Materials & Mobility

The explorer within us has pushed his frontiers over the past centuries with the invention of various means of transportation. Both the transport of people as of products and raw materials ensured that the discoveries of today are within everyone’s reach. The car becomes more and more a working and living environment; it starts to communicate, equipped with advanced functions from safe warning systems to autonomous self-navigation and self-driving.

The innovation for all mobility aims continuously for lightweight and strong materials, efficient production processes and energy saving, as well as the integration of functions, experience, and means of communication. Sustainability is starting to become increasingly important as well. The decrease in use of fossil fuels to compact, lightweight and affordable batteries, recyclable super strong composites and bio-resins, new metal alloys, smart material combinations, indestructible plastics, and coatings to protect against weather influences, are all examples of material innovations in this sector. Digital processes are also up and coming, from cheaper moulds to complex joints.

Speaker programmeThe speaker programme ‘The Future of Mobility’ was put together in collaboration with Erik Tempelman (Associate professor Design Engineering at Technical University of Delft). This takes place on Tuesday afternoon 13 March in the Material Xperience theatre. Speakers are Erik Tempelman, Prof. Adriaan Beukers, and Tom Schiller (Mokumono), among others.

Materials from the independent Materia collectionPress mouldings (ONA692)Natural fibre moulded parts are produced by high-pressure moulding on the basis of a prepreg (a nonwoven fabric impregnated with a thermosetting binder). From the prepregs, any three-dimensional free-form surface can be produced as long as it meets certain geometric requirements.

Micromoulded biocomposites (ONA700)
Designer Bas Froon developed a ‘micro-moulding’ machine that makes it possible to locally change material qualities from a soft material into a strong and lightweight plastic one. The micro-moulding process makes use of thermoplastic composite materials: natural fibres or recycled textiles combined with a bio-based plastic like PLA.

Structural veneer (WOO366)
Structural Veneer consists of thin-gauge Grip Metal mechanically bonded to wood veneer in a corrugated structure. Grip Metal is a patented stamping process created to modify sheet metal, applying an array of micro-formed hooks that can physically adhere with other materials without the use of traditional adhesives.

Large exhibition pieces3D printed ship’s propeller
This propeller is 3D printed from stainless steel and was created by RAMLAB (Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing LAB), the company that made the world’s first 3D printed ship’s propeller, the WAAMpeller.

Dutchfiets
The Dutch start-up Dutchfiets created a bicycle entirely made from recyclable plastic. The plastic (PE) is easily recyclable and energy-efficient to produce. In addition, it is a very cheap and light material and, unlike steel, it doesn’t rust.

Mokumono
Dutch start-up Mokumono wants to bring the production process of bikes back to the Netherlands. To do so, they created a fully automated production process that makes strong and lightweight aluminium frames from sheet metal.